Houses threatened by erosion

Wall of boulders swept away at many places in Ullal

Sandbags stacked at the front and back of houses greeted visitors in Subhashnagar, Mukkacheri, Kaiko Road and nearby areas in Ullal on Monday.

Like it happens during every monsoon, pounding waves are dismantling the wall of boulders along the shore meant to prevent erosion and smashing into the houses.

The annual menace of sea erosion is back to haunt the residents of these areas.

Already, a part of the concrete road near Al Masjid Rifaiya has caved in and a crack has appeared on the wall of the place of worship.

A small extended part of the house of Asma Alimamma Sikandar collapsed on Sunday evening, while cracks have appeared on two walls of the 16-year-old house of Someshwara gram panchayat member U.M. Adinabba. Residents such as Aminamma Cherimon (70) of the area say that the tidal line was more than 100 metres away when she purchased the house 22 years ago. “Now, the sea is just a few yards away and waves keep hitting my house. Why don't they give us alternative land? We will vacate this place,” Ms. Cherimon said. “We could not sleep the whole night,” said Ashriya Noor ul-Haq, a resident of the area. “With little children around and waves hitting our house, how can we sleep,” she asked.

Residents said they were assured on Sunday by district in-charge Minister J. Krishna Palemar that the reinforcement of the wall of boulders would begin on Monday, but there was no sign of it when The Hindu visited the spot.